Although I never saw him play (and am not a Yankee fan) I enjoyed reading about him and the movie *61. He had great numbers and was a big piece of those great Yankee teams. He got overlooked because of Mantle and from what i learned it was incredible the way he held himself given the abuse he took. The 61 homers should be almost enough by itself as he not only beat the Babe's record but is probably the record holder for HR's is a season that actually did it clean.

There are a lot of great options, but the easiest and best choice is closer Lee Smith. When it comes down to it...to be an elite closer for as long as Smith was...should be enough to get him in. For 14 years he held the all time saves record with 478. Trevor Hoffman broke his record (which now belongs to Mariano Rivera). The best part about Lee Smith is that he did it on 8 different teams...and did it well. This guy passed the eye test. Ask any real baseball fan during the 80s...who the best relief pitcher was and they would say LEE SMITH.

One endearing quality is that he played the majority of his career on the two most tortured franchises in history...the Cubs and the Red Sox.

There are only 5 pitchers in the hall based solely on being a reliever...that needs to change. The 7 time all-star should be in the hall of fame. Period.

I think it is a crime that Ted Simmons is not in the Hall of Fame. He was one of the best hitting catchers to ever play the game. He had almost 250 HRs, 1400 RBIs, 500 doubles, and 2500 hits while batting .285 for his career. He is arguably the best switch hitting catcher of all-time. He held the record for his position in the career hits and doubles category, until Ivan Rodriguez broke them (possibly with a little help...wink wink) For 7 seasons, he led the Cardinals in RBIs, which is quite an accomplishment of someone who plays his position. He was an 8 time all-star, won a Silver Slugger award, and caught 2 no-hitters. He was unfortunately overshadowed by the other great NL catcher of his era, the immortal Bench. I really hope that he is voted in one day by the Vet Committee because he truly deserves to be enshrined, especially considering the borderline members who were voted in by the writers as of late.

Ken Griffey Jr. of course, 22 years in baseball, I watched him as a kid and as an adult. I had the Ken-etics poster on my wall in high school, he was a great role model. I don't think he is actually eligible until 2015 though.

I would say Rose or Jackson, but just to be different I'll go with Doc Gooden. He really helped turn the Mets around and win them a championship. He has a .631 win percentage, and was a strikeout leader a couple of times.

greg maddox
this guy was a true pro on and off the field, did not have over powering fastball or knee breaking curveball , this guy could just pitch ,put the ball where he wanted ,he had three go to pitches but threw them seventeen different ways ,he improvised with what he had in the middle of the steriod era and the numbers speak for them self 355 wins - 3.16 era - over 3300 k*s - over 5000 ings pitched - 4 cy*s automaddox first ballot, easily over 95% on all ballots

I have to go with Tim Raines, the guy was one of the most under appreciated hitters in the 80's-90's had a amazing on base percentage, 1,571 runs and 64.6 WAR. He really deserves the bid in my opinion.

Maybe this is a homer answer, but I like to say Joe Carter should be in the hall. 396 career home runs, 5x All-Star, 10 25+ home run seasons, and of course one of the most famous home runs in baseball history and the greatest moment in Canadian baseball history (other than the diving catch made this year in the LLWS!).

Again, probably a homer answer, but I think he deserves a spot. Plus, I didn't want to go with the typical Pete Rose or Barry Bonds answer!

__________________
I will leave my signature the same until the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup. In short, I will never change my signature.

It’s hard to blame the BBWAA for not voting for a man with a career 204-150 record, 3.48 ERA, and zero dominant seasons after the age of 30 to be in the Hall of Fame. Overall, his career numbers come up short.

But, Orel should really be in the Hall of Fame anyway – on the basis that he earned three straight Cy Young awards. In actuality, he won just once for his historic 1988 season when he shutout opponents for 59 consecutive innings (and probably should have been MVP). But Hershiser was also the National League’s best pitcher in both 1987 and 1989.

In both those seasons, Hershiser led the league in Wins Above Replacement and innings pitched, putting up ERA’s of 3.06 and 2.31 respectively. In both seasons, his Win-Loss percentage was only .500, due to poor performance by teammates. Also in both seasons, he saw his award given to closers who pitched under 100 innings.

If he receives those well-deserved Cy Youngs, Hershiser goes from “solid pitcher with dominant shutout record” to “3-time Cy Young winner.” Only Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson have ever won as many as three consecutive Cy Young awards.

I'm gonna have to go with Roberto Alomar: There is just one reason why Roberto Alomar was not elected to Cooperstown in his first year of eligibility, because he spit on an umpire back in 1996. I just don't understand, What other reason could there be for denying a career .300 hitter, who was known as a great defender, and had speed as well as some power. He was a 12 time all star and finished in the top five in MVP voting five times.

__________________COLLECTOR, TRADER, AND SELLER OF PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING